Great designers or artists have this curious habit to inspire us with their work. Amazingly, some of them are even inspiring when they are talking, that’s why I am sharing this little collection of quotes by designers and artists.

Art has to move you and design does not, unless it’s a good design for a bus.

David Hockney

Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new.

Henry David Thoreau

Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it.

Salvador Dali

Great designers seldom make great advertising men, because they get overcome by the beauty of the picture – and forget that merchandise must be sold.

James Randolph Adams

Technical skill is mastery of complexity, while creativity is mastery of simplicity.

Christopher Zeeman

Design is the method of putting form and content together. Design, just as art, has multiple definitions; there is no single definition. Design can be art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that’s why it is so complicated.

Paul Rand

Graphic design will save the world right after rock and roll does.

David Carson

The difference between good design and great design is intelligence.

Tibor Kalman

A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.

Douglas Adams

If you remember the shape of your spoon at lunch, it has to be the wrong shape. The spoon and the letter are tools; one to take food from the bowl, the other to take information off the page… When it is a good design, the reader has to feel comfortable because the letter is both banal and beautiful.

Adrian Frutiger

About the Author

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Mirko Humbert

Mirko Humbert is the editor-in-chief and main author of Designer Daily and Typography Daily. He is also a graphic designer and the founder of WP Expert.